Radicar Chic

FANFAIR

Automakers reserve their most outlandish ideas for vehicles they call concept cars. These rolling design-and-engineering experiments are unveiled at key automotive events such as the international auto shows or classic-car concours d'elegance, where they can draw a crowd and are intended to showcase a manufacturer's unbounded vision of the future—and to get consumers (and journalists) salivating. Given these five sizzly exemplars, we say, "Mission accomplished.''

BRETT BERK

SHELBY SUPERCARS (SSC)Tuatara

The Tuatara is the intended successor to the SSC Ultimate Aero, which held the world record for speed in a production car, before having it snatched away by the $2.4 million Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. The 1,350-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V-8 in this one is anticipated to propel it to 275 m.p.h., aided by a sleek shape (styled by automotive enfant terrible Jason Castriota) that's equal parts Concorde and Koolhaas.

ACURANSX

At long last, a replacement for Acura's storied every-day supercar from the 1990s has arrived. The update shows proper respect for its two-seat progenitor's crisply swoopy design and mid-engined heritage, but adds electric motors up front, making this iteration an all-wheel-drive hybrid. It's also the car of choice for Robert Downey Jr.'s billionaire playboy genius, Tony Stark, in the upcoming movie The Avengers.

LEXUSLF-LC.

Lexus entered the elite performance realm occupied by manufacturers like Ferrari and Lamborghini ft with its technologically otherworldly, $375,000, V-l 0-powered LFA. Now it's attempting to bring the same excitement slightly down-market with this muscular two-plus-two, hybrid sports car. The car with the overstated hourglass figure (and mouth) is intended to encourage younger drivers to become part of the staid Lexus-brand family. If the production version looks anything like this, we think it stands more than a chance.

BMW 18

Like the Acura, this is a movie-star car (an early prototype of the i8 appears as Tom Cruise's cruiser in Mission: ImpossibleGhost Protocol) and also a luxury/sport all-wheeldrive hybrid. But the i8 has room for four passengers as well, and enough glass in the roof and doors for everyone to enjoy the view on any journey.

We dub the far-out doors "pteradaurs."

Cadillac Ciel

A bold new flagship concept for General Motors' resurgent "Standard of the World" brand, the Ciel takes design inspiration from the optimism of midcentury Caddys, but brings it to a world where status is no longer synonymous with scale. Its V-6 engine delivers brawn with a pair of turbochargers and a hybrid battery pack.

FOR DETAILS , GO TO VF .COM/CREDITS